Cairns CBD speed review to target safety

Pedestrian and bike riding safety will be the focus of a Palaszczuk Government and Cairns Regional Council project in the Cairns CBD.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy said he was pleased to be working closely with the council to review options to improve safety, including speed limits, in areas of high pedestrians and bike riding activity.

“We know both locals and tourists love walking and riding bikes around Cairns, and pedestrians and bike riders are vulnerable road users and need to be protected,” Mr Healy said.

“One low-cost measure to help achieve this is reviewing the appropriateness of speed limits which impact on driver reaction time, stopping distance and impact forces.

“The council has agreed to be involved with a group of CBD stakeholders and associated community engagement strategies to see how driver behaviour and attitude towards speeding can change.

“Seventeen pedestrians and one bike rider have been killed in Queensland this year. It is important that we look for ways to make the road environment safer for them.

“Streets which are more inviting for pedestrians and bike riders tend to be more vibrant and economically successful than streets with high volumes of fast moving traffic.”

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said Cairns CBD was chosen because of the significant amount of pedestrian and bike rider activity, mostly attributed to its strong recreational, retail, business, entertainment and tourism sectors.

“Unfortunately too many people are getting injured. Between 2012 and 2016, there were 155 total casualties as a result of crashes in the Cairns CBD,” Mr Bailey said.

“Outside of Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Spence and Abbott Streets in the Cairns CBD have the highest instances of pedestrian and bike rider fatal and serious injury crashes of all 50km/h streets in Queensland.”

Mr Bailey thanked the council for being involved in this important initiative which will make it safer for Cairns locals and tourists.

Mayor Bob Manning said the next steps were for the Transport and Main Roads and Cairns Regional Council to discuss the proposal with local stakeholders and to make recommendations regarding locations for new speed limits and related minor infrastructure upgrades.

Bicycle Queensland CEO Anne Savage welcomed the move.

“We commend the State Government for launching the trial and look forward to supporting this process,” she said.

Background:

The trial would investigate whether CBD streets which are now either 50km/h or 60km/h could be reduced to 40 km/h to increase pedestrian and bike rider safety.

ENDS

Media contact: Dominic Geiger, 0447355565